12 Not that I have already obtained or have already been perfected, but I press on that, if indeed, I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

Discernment is not a dirty word. I saw read a statement by friend the other day which stated that if a Christian leader demands to be shielded from those with discernment then that is a sure sign that he (or she) has some sort of theology problem or worse and that very thing calls for those with discernment to take an even closer look at that person’s ministry…. Continue reading →

4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:4-10 (LSB) Read verses 9-10 on the site.

If you have read very much of what God has had me post here then you know how much I admire John Bunyan and his fantastic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan understood what real Christianity was all about. He was surrounded by the empty religiosity of the state church of his time and its leaders tried to silence him through intimidation and imprisonment for refusing to stop preaching the Gospel…. Continue reading →

45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Leviticus 11:45 (LSB)

The resistance in today’s version of the Church of Jesus Christ to commands such as the one above is rooted in rebellion. Yes, I know that is a blunt statement. Yes, I know that there are huge segments of the church in America that believe that the Old Testament is not for them. However, the truth does not stop being the truth simply because people refuse to believe it. I run into this quite a bit. I teach something or write something that is a clear command of God that we must obey and someone will say or write something like, “well everyone knows that that can’t mean that because God isn’t like that.” Excuse me but since when does what people believe about God change what God is like or diminishes the veracity of His commands? Continue reading →

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:8-10 (LSB) 

The most peace I have in this life is as I meditate on passages like Matthew 5:2-12, which is The Beatitudes. On the other hand, one thing that causes me to take on a countenance of righteous indignation occurs as I observe Christian preachers, teachers, and writers functioning in the role of “prophet” leading their followers to discount personal holiness…. Continue reading →

 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” Genesis 43:5-6 (LSB)

Unforgiveness is poison for the Soul as it ensnares those who refuse to forgive by binding them into the prison of bitterness. This world is not a peaceful, easy, benign place. It is fallen. The world system is the product of Man’s rebellion against God. There is war. There is crime. There is oppression…. Continue reading →

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him 10 for an administration of the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him. 11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:7-12 (LSB) 

A proper study of the doctrine of Penal Substitution will reveal that it is actually a line of contention, or line of demarcation if you will, that divides Orthodox Christianity from those forms whose advocates have in some way come up with their own version of the Gospel. These forms are diverse and too numerous to go into here…. Continue reading →

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:22-24 (LSB) 

“Christian Universalists” say that God would not send people to burn in Hell for eternity. What is their basis for this? They misquote passages such as the one I placed at the top of this post saying that “all’ and “all’ means all people. The basis for taking this stand is this, “I reject that God will send all unbelievers to burn in Hell eternally!” Really?… Continue reading →

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. John 15:3 (LSB) 

All people are born dead in their trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13) This condition of spiritual death also means that each person, though desperate for fulfillment that can only be satisfied in God, cannot come to God, know God, or even seek Him. Because of this, they pursue fulfillment from everything around them. The number one method of doing this is via the flesh. The flesh is all about self and self-gratification. The problem with this is that nothing works for very long, including religiosity. Continue reading →

33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:33-34 (LSB) 

The “New Evangelism” gospel is one that claims that the sound doctrines of orthodoxy which teach us about the atonement, advocacy, and propitiation of Christ for the sake of His sheep are unnecessary “add-ons“ to Christ Jesus and, in fact, simply get in the way of truly knowing and emulating Him…. Continue reading →

This is a repost from August 2023. The reason I am reposting this is my study of Corrie Ten Boom and her family and what they endured at the hands of the Nazis during WWII because they attempted to hide and protect Jews from being deported from Holland to Germany for extermination. As I read of the details of what they went through before and after their arrest and their own experiences in a Nazi concentration/extermination camp and how God was with Corrie and her sister Betsie through it all. Their faith never faltered. They prayed fervently that they would not hate their persecutors and that His will would be done above all…. Continue reading →

14 What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” 16 So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND IN ORDER THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. Romans 9:14-21 (LSB) Read verses 19-21 on the site.

The more I deal with those who “resent” the doctrines we hold to here at Possessing the Treasure, such as the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, the doctrine of Regeneration, and the doctrine of Election, among many others, the more I have prayed for God to show me why it is that so many reject what is clearly presented in His Word…. Continue reading →

37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ Matthew 21:37 (LSB) 

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word translated “reverence” is usually שׁחה or shâchâh. It is the same word used for worship as well because it speaks of assuming a humble posture before royalty for instance. However, in the New Testament we find a most remarkable word translated as respect or reverence or even shame. It is found in the passage above (Matthew 21:37). Look at the Greek passage of the same verse I placed below it…. Continue reading →

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh spoke to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!” 17 And Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, 18 and Yahweh sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of Yahweh, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh?” 20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of Yahweh and went on the way on which Yahweh sent me and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek and have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 1 Samuel 15:16-20 (LSB) 

The Reformers and Puritans would not recognize as genuine most of what we call Christianity today. Of course one of the main thrusts of the Protestant Reformation was to make the Word of God accessible to all people. Why?… Continue reading →

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 (LSB) 

One the most disturbing aspects of the churches who practice Christianity “lite” is the near total abandonment of a call to personal holiness. Even more discouraging is the fact that they preach a version of the gospel that has had any mention of repentance severed from it. The reasoning behind this, of course, is that they are building bridges to the unchurched. If they preach the whole gospel they will drive away those they are attempting to draw to join their churches…. Continue reading →

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (LSB) 

What is it that causes God to justify believers? What is justification? I heard a definition a long time ago where the preacher said something like this, “Justification is what happens when we are born again, it is ‘Just as if I had never sinned.’”… Continue reading →

13 Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14 Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. 15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand. Isaiah 52:13-15 (LSB) 

In his fine book Escape from Reason, Francis Schaeffer analyzed 20th Century philosophy, science, art, and popular culture to get to the “cause,” if you will, of the decline of reason, which was and is still shaping our society. Modern thought in our time, it seems, has been diverted from an eternal, heavenly focus to one that is entirely geared to the temporal…. Continue reading →

3 For we have wasted enough time participating in the desires of the Gentiles, having proceeded in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and unlawful idolatry. 4 Wherein they think it strange you are not running with them into the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. (1 Peter 4:3-4 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The Loneliness of the Christian

“The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way. Continue reading →

5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. 7 And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:5-10 (LSB) 

My personal library is fitted to my own personal tastes and needs. I doubt if most people would want to tackle most of my books, but they are treasures to me. I have several books about the English Protestant Reformation. That means I have quite a few books about William Tyndale for instance…. Continue reading →

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (LSB) 

In our daily Christian walk it is a rare day in which we take every thought capture and, through our active repentance, successfully deny ourselves through every circumstance. I don’t think I could claim that I have successfully done this the majority of the time…. Continue reading →

1 Now we ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken in your mind or be alarmed whether by a spirit or a word or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it has not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the sanctuary of God, exhibiting himself as being God. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (LSB) 

I confess that for many years that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 seemed to me “not to fit” with the Eschatology that I was being fed on a regular basis. I even heard one very well known “Prophecy Expert” say that the “falling away” as some translations say or “apostasy” as the LSB says in v3 was describing the secret Rapture of the Church…. Continue reading →

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you may eat, nor for your body, what clothes you may put on. 23 For the soul is more than food and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens that they do not sow nor reap, they have neither a storeroom nor a barn, and God feeds them. How much more worth are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying is able to add upon his lifespan a cubit? 26 If then you are not able to do as little a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:22-34 translated from the NA28 Greek text) Read verses 27-34 on the site.

Over the last several days (or is it weeks?) as I have written various posts about the Sovereignty of God in Salvation, I have found myself in a crossfire of sorts. It’s been a while since the accuser has had such a field day with so much help from his minions who are mired so deeply in their religious traditions that they are blind to Biblical truth no matter how clearly it is presented to them…. Continue reading →